The harvest is over in Bourgogne and our winegrowers and merchants are, on the whole, looking pleased. After historically low volumes in 2021, followed by some tricky weather during the growth cycle, the 2022 vintage is proving to be a pleasant surprise, and one that combines both quality and quantity. With beautiful balance, perfect health, and wonderful color extraction, it would be unreasonable to ask for more.
The potential is there to make 2022 a great vintage indeed.
Bourgogne has a network of around 330 signs to indicate its various appellations. It is the only winegrowing region to offer visitors such a “reading” of its landscape, in situ.
A first set of signs was introduced in the 1990s and was replaced between 2005 and 2007 as they had aged or become damaged. In 2021, the Bourgogne Wine Board (BIVB) launched a project to renew them once again, but always with modernity, respect for the environment, and the quest for excellence in terms of wine tourism in mind. As a result, only the panels themselves will be changed and the posts will be reused. How the new panels will integrate into the landscape was also a core consideration for this new graphic proposal.
The first changes will be introduced in September in the Châtillonnais (North-East of Bourgogne), followed by the Côte de Beaune and the Côte de Nuits. The project will be widened out across the region in 2023.
In images – New immersive workshops on offer at the École des Vins de Bourgogne
A new video to introduce four themed workshops and an exceptional experience in the world of Bourgogne wines.
The École des Vins de Bourgogne is offering four unique tasting workshops at the Cité Internationale de la Gastronomie et du Vin in Dijon.
Find out more about these workshops by watching this video on the Bourgogne Wines YouTube channel here
Introduction to Bourgogne wine tasting: Decode the tasting techniques and vocabulary you need to describe a wine’s visual, olfactive, and gustatory characteristics.
40 minutes, three wines, €20 per person
Vintage in Bourgogne, why is it so important?: Learn about how a vintage affects the choice of a wine, and about single-varietal winegrowing, ageing, and keeping potential.
40 minutes, three wines, €20 per person
Bourgogne, it's all about Terroir: Learn about the notion of terroir in Bourgogne through its varietals, its expertise, the hierarchy of its 84 appellations, and the Climats.
40 minutes, four wines, €20 per person
Food and wine pairings: Explore the diversity of Bourgogne wines by marrying them with the perfect dish from the gamut of Bourgogne specialties.
60 minutes, five wines, five regional specialties, €29 per person
These workshops provide a guaranteed visual, auditive, and gustatory exploration through a multi-sensorial tour of Bourgogne.
Next “Rendez-vous with Bourgogne Wines” dedicated to Pouilly-Fuissé Premier Cru
On 12 October, this international show will be dedicated to the brand-new Premier Cru wines from this Mâconnais AOC.
Some 22 Climats in Pouilly-Fuissé are the first in the Mâconnais to be raised to this appellation level. They illustrate the determination of producers from the southernmost part of Bourgogne to produce high-quality wines that reflect the terroir of their origins.
This one-hour show, to be broadcast on 12 October, will explore the history of this classification awarded for the 2020 vintage. It will explain all the subtleties of the appellation specifications and will offer the chance to those industry professionals who sign up, to sample six freshly crowned Pouilly-Fuissé Premier Cru wines.
The first half-hour will explore the key facts about the appellation, through reports and interviews with winegrowers.
The second half-hour will be dedicated to a commented tasting of six wines in the company of the expert host from the École des Vins de Bourgogne. They will also be answering questions sent in live via chat.
The show will be broadcast by your Official Bourgogne Wine Trainers in seven countries, namely Germany, USA, Taiwan, Australia, South Korea, Belgium, and Canada.
To watch the show from home or the office, just click here. This will give you access to the whole show and the tasting during which you can interact in real time with the host and other wine industry professionals as they comment on the wines.
The show will be broadcast through five slots during the day. It will run in English at 9am, 11am, 6pm, and 10pm, and in French at 4pm. Sign up to whichever slot suits you best. All hours are France time.
If you’d like to taste the six samples, our Official Bourgogne Wines Ambassadors will be hosting live tastings around the world. Find out who is your closest Ambassador from this list.
The winners of the 51st edition of the Cave de Prestige are announced
For the 2022 edition, some 144 wines were selected from 831 submissions – a fine selection!
The 51st award ceremony for the wines selected for the Bourgogne Wine Board’s (BIVB) Cave de Prestige was held on 30 June. BIVB Co-Presidents François Labet and Laurent Delaunay were delighted to present this very fine selection, despite it having been a difficult time in terms of availability.
Of the 831 wines submitted, just 144 (17%) were selected. These figures illustrate the very high standards demanded by this process. Such rigor is essential in order to respond to the expectations and needs of consumers, who are owed the very best in terms of quality.
“We are proud to be able to offer such a fine selection for 2022,” said BIVB President François Labet. “Some 831 cuvées were submitted compared to 1,580 last year. This 47% drop in numbers speaks volumes about the paradoxical year we have just lived through: In 2021, we harvested our smallest yield for 40 years, and yet we have never sold so much wine.”
Fortunately, the 2022 vintage should permit a return to normal (See article above).
“In Bourgogne, when one talks of a Climat, one doesn’t look up at the sky, one looks down at the earth.” Bernard Pivot (French writer and former broadcaster).
Here, the word “Climat” has nothing to do with the weather. This word is used to describe a precisely demarcated plot of vines that is referred to by name and separately vinified. It gives its name to the wine produced on this specific plot.
The Bourgogne Wine Board (BIVB) has created a new animation that has been released on its YouTube channel. In just two minutes, viewers will understand this typically Burgundian word that is the ultimate expression of terroir: Watch it here.
The Pouilly-Fuissé AOC is a Village appellation from the Mâconnais, in the southernmost part of Bourgogne. It covers 758 hectares and, since the 2020 vintage, has comprised 22 Premier Cru Climats.
The majestic rocks of Solutré and Vergisson are emblematic of this winegrowing region which flourishes on pebbly scree atop a clay-limestone soil.
The appellation exclusively produces white wines that can be divided into different aroma families: Mineral (silex), nut (almond and hazelnut), citrus (lemon and grapefruit), white-fleshed fruit (peach), blossom (lime and acacia), baked (white bread, butter brioche), and honey.
The Pouilly-Fuissé appellation is characterized by sophistication and distinction. But it should not be confused with Pouilly-Fumé which is produced on the banks of the Loire opposite Sancerre.
Sommelier’s tips:
The Pouilly-Fuissé AOC is marked by a touch of minerality that makes it a great match with noble seafood such as king prawns and lobsters, or even with pan-fried foie gras.
The beautifully balanced acidity and smoothness of Pouilly-Fuissé makes a wonderful pairing with white meat, veal, and poultry in cream sauce, as well as with different goat cheeses. Try it with a spicy and fragrant couscous or a fish tagine with sweet and sour sauce.
After a tense year for the Bourgogne wines, the 2022 vintage looks promising
In recent years, yields in Bourgogne varied significantly. If one takes a long-term view, annual production has been falling slowly since 2003, with the 2021 vintage only serving to amplify this trend. Fortunately, the 2022 vintage promises to be a generous one, and comes at the right moment to reinvigorate the industry in terms of availability and sales potential.
* The small 2021 harvest (around 997,000 hl, or just over 132.9 million bottles) had a big impact on availability and sales from the estate.
* While stocks on estates at the end of July 2022 seem to be well below the five-year average, these are supplemented by equivalent stock levels with the négoce trade.
* In terms of exports, revenue continues to grow, unlike volumes which, despite everything, remain higher than they were in 2019. They were up 13% by volume for the first six months of 2022 compared to the same period the previous year.
Following the free trade agreement signed in 2018, French wines enjoyed record sales from 2019 onwards. The pandemic in 2020 marked a pause in exports, but 2021 saw a return to the record revenues of 2019, mainly thanks to three winegrowing regions, namely Champagne, Bordeaux, and Bourgogne, which together account for 77% of French wine exports in terms of revenue.
However, Bourgogne is the only one to have increased its record revenue, with 120.6 million euros. Although the wines exported are mainly Régionale Bourgogne and Chablis AOCs, a growing demand for top-of-the-range wines should see Bourgogne wine exports expand further. The growing interest in wine in Japan and the growth of this market, driven by women and city-dwelling young people, is encouraging.
The first few months of 2022 saw a slight decrease in volumes, mainly due to a lack of stock in the region (around 6.7% compared to 2021 for the first five months). Revenue continued its double-digit growth.
Key figures for 2021 for Bourgogne wines in Japan:
* 3rd biggest market in terms of revenue
* 5th biggest market by volume
Exports: 8 million bottles (up 10.2% on 2020) for 120 million euros (up 8.1% on 2020) of which (by volume):
* White wine: 55%
* Red wine/rosé: 41%
* Crémant de Bourgogne: 4%
In 2021, Bourgogne wines accounted for 17% of volumes of French AOCs exported to Japan and 25% of the revenue.
Since its first edition in 1949, the Fête des Vins de Chablis, organized by the Office du Chablis in partnership with the Bourgogne Wine Board (BIVB), has never stopped evolving. But its success has always been based on its founding principle of conviviality.
On 22 and 23 October, the center of Chablis will once again welcome a host of events celebrating the wines of Chablis and the Grand Auxerrois.
- Saturday 22 October (12:30pm -6pm) will see tastings offered by around 40 estates and wine houses producing Chablis and Grand Auxerrois wines. There will also be an exhibition of winegrowing equipment, stalls offering delicious food and drink, street entertainment, blind tastings, hot meals, and so on.
- Sunday 23 October (9:30am – 6pm) is when the Piliers Chablisiens will parade through the town, with ceremonies for new members, along with stands offering plenty of food and drink, along with more street entertainment.
As we wait for the announcement of the full program including several new attractions as yet to be unveiled, it’s already time to get talking about the event.
The village of Couchey on the Côte de Nuits hosted its first Saint-Vincent Tournante de Bourgogne nearly 40 years ago. And in 2023, the village is preparing to celebrate the 79th edition, on 28 and 29 January.
For several months, Couchey’s winegrowers and residents have been working together, combining their expertise, creativity, and wit to prepare for the festival, welcome visitors, and make this tradition a festive and convivial experience.
The village of Couchey is one of just three communes to produce the Marsannay AOC. Its terroir enjoys an oceanic climate with a semi-continental influence on limestone and marl soils. It is the only Village appellation that can be produced in red, white, and rosé, and its wines pack all the character normally associated with the Côte de Nuits. The appellation will be at the heart of the festivities!
The tasting kit is already available via the website, priced at €20. It will also be possible to buy it on the day for the same price at collection points at all entrances to the festival. The kit is valid for both Saturday and Sunday.
An event at which the vins de Bourgogne most representative of their appellation and vintages are singled out to receive the Tastevinage Seal, a guarantee of their authenticity and quality. The award winners were chosen from a selection of 271 wines by a jury of professionals from the world of wine, headed by Dr. Fabrizio Bucella PhD, professor of physics and mathematics at the University of Brussels, visiting professor at the universities of Bordeaux and Rheims, sommelier, and masterful populariser of matters scientific and oenological.
The results of the 110th Tastevinage:
Wine producers, sommeliers, restaurateurs, wine-merchants, buyers, journalists and connoisseurs met up once again in the Great Cellar of the Clos de Vougeot, that veritable shrine of Bourgogne’s winegrowing and cultural heritage.
During the session, more than a hundred judges tasted 271 vins de Bourgogne, out of which only ninety-one were awarded the Tastevinage Seal : a success rate of 33.58%. The awards were distributed among : 28 regional appellations 39 village appellations 24 Premier and Grand Cru appellations
A result that conforms with the aim of the Confrérie des Chevaliers du Tastevin to promote the reputation of Bourgogne’s great wines, whatever their appellation status.
Event - The 34th Bourgogne young talents competition
Every year, on the weekend of the Hospices de Beaune wine auction, the Groupement des Jeunes Professionnels de la Vigne et du Vin (GJPV) de Bourgogne selects the most young talented winegrowers.
Six trophies are awarded following a double tasting of three wines per candidate. The first tasting is carried out by industry professionals and confirmed amateur wine buffs, resulting in a shortlist of 21. Their wines are then tasted by this year’s patrons of the competition, who hone the selection down to six winners.
This year, the patrons are Fabien Espana, from the Chablis Wine Not wine bar in Chablis, and Rachelle Lemoine, French wine journalist for l'OBS, le Parisien, and Terre de Vins.
Join us on 18 November to find out the names of the deserving winners.
In July, the new president of the GJPV, Nathalie Bernard from the domaine Bader-Mimeur in Chassagne-Montrachet, took over the reins from Arnaud Desfontaine. A relative newcomer to the GJPV, she is full of ambition for this organization to promote Bourgogne’s young winegrowers and winemakers.
Bourgogne vs. Burgundy: to re-affirm their identity, the region and the producers are reverting back to the original French iteration of the name, Bourgogne.
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